


Love always burns bright

by IronicIronMan



Category: Marvel, X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men RPF
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Charles is very gay, Cherik - Freeform, Erik is a Sweetheart, F/M, Fluff, Gay, Hurt Charles, Love, M/M, MxM - Freeform, Romance, So is Erik but thats on the down low, Sorry Erik
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 03:02:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19862431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronicIronMan/pseuds/IronicIronMan
Summary: After an incident that happened 10 years ago, Erik and Charles had grown far apart from one another - neither man uttering another word to one other. Well, that was until one day Charles walks into Erik's jewellery shop completely star-struck to see a face he wished to never see again. From there, a relationship is forced upon them as Charles' sister Raven makes them closer than ever in hopes they will rekindle the fire that once burned not long ago. Though that doesn't mean their journey will be easy, there happened to be many bumps along the way, trying to force the two apart but you see, Love always burns bright.





	Love always burns bright

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank my partner, JustJess, whom this fanfiction is based off a roleplay we have.

It was another day at the workshop. Erik was sat in the backroom, hunched over a large wooden workbench. Small pieces of metal were littered all over the place. He was a jeweller and had been for some time but it was no easy job. Well, at least he made it look that way. After all, he couldn't let people know that he was a mutant. He'd be shunned, besides it made his life a whole lot easier. It gave him time to focus on the more important things in life, at least that would be if he had more important things in life instead of a job. But no, Erik was alone and liked it that way. At least for now, all that would change later in the day when an old friend of his would knock him off his feet. Erik didn't know that just yet.

He was currently working on a beautiful wedding ring. His boss had told him a lovely young chap had come in earlier this week requesting a ring for his to be brother-in-law. Sounded like a wedding was due to him. He couldn't help but feel a little sad, the reminder of his loneliness sat in his stomach. It was his own fault, he didn't pursue any romantic relationships so there wasn't much he could do about that.

The ring he was currently working on was gorgeous. It was forged from platinum and he was currently adding the final touches of roses engraved on the outside of the ring. He was squinting at the ring, one handheld underneath the ring causing it to be suspended in the air while the other hand was clutching a fine-tune scalpal. The final rose was now complete, this meant Erik could take a well-deserved break.

Sitting up straight in his chair, he stretched outwards, grunting slightly as his back crack accidentally. He had been hunched over this workbench for far too long. He pulled his sleeve up glancing at his watch. Wow, he'd managed to work all the way through the morning and it was already lunchtime. He stood up, wiping his hands on his apron. He was about to grab his jacket when he heard the bell ring, indicating a customer had now arrived. He sighed as he hung his jacket back up before wearing a weary smile on his face as he walked back out to the front of the shop, in order to greet the customer.

But boy was he surprised when he saw who it was. The smile from his face dropped immediately as he just stared right at the man's face as he walked up to the counter. It couldn't be him? What was he doing in a place like this? Was he getting married? A million thoughts rushed through Erik's head as he stared at this man who was stood in front of him. He realised he hadn't uttered a word but instead had just gawped at the man who had just entered the jewellery shop. He cleared his throat before speaking _"Hello."_

The man stood in front of him was Charles Xavier. An old friend of his from when they attended school together, but they didn't leave things on a good note. In fact, they hadn't spoken since their last day of school, so this was a more than awkward encounter. Charles clearly recognised Erik but didn't seem to mention it as he simply returned his hello with a smile, that could be described as forced at best. At first, Erik was planning on just not remembering the friend that was all grown up now, but he wasn't a child any more so had to acknowledge the friction going on between the two men.

"So, uh it's been a while huh." He said with a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. He looked down avoiding eye contact the best he could, god why did this have to happen to him? He licked his lips as his gaze drifted back up to Charles in an attempt to read the mans face but wasn't offering anything he could read at least. He swallowed hard as Charles spoke up to him. _"It has Erik. You look well"_. He said with a polite nod. It seemed like nothing had changed and Charles had remembered everything. Well, Erik didn't blame him, he practically abandoned Charles years ago. 'I'm here to pick up a wedding ring I ordered.' Charles spoke, not offering any emotion in his voice.

Erik's breath got caught in the back of his throat as Charles said he was here to pick up a wedding ring. So he was getting married. He couldn't help but notice the sinking feeling that resonated within him. He shook those thoughts away from his head, he couldn't think like that anymore. "Oh, your getting married? Who's the lucky girl?" He said, trying his best to smile and make casual conversation. "Oh or guy" He quickly added in, remembering Charles' preference in romantic partners. Charles just raised his eyebrow before shaking his head. _"Oh no, it's not for me, my sister will be getting married soon. The wedding is next week and I've been tasked with locating the ring"_ He said.

"Oh, Raven right? Well, that's good to hear" He said, letting out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding. He cleared his throat before realising he hadn't actually retrieved the ring for him. "Yes, the ring. I just finished it actually so let me grab it for you" He said, stumbling over his words. He rushed out of the storefront and outback.

As soon as he was out of sight of Charles, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Wow, I was not expecting him to come by" He muttered as he started to breathe in and out. He had no idea what he was going to say. He had broken Charles' heart years ago and now he just didn't know what to do. After a couple of seconds of just breathing, Erik retrieved the wedding ring from his workbench and placed it in a small leather box before heading back out to see Charles.

"Here we are." He said as he handed the man the box. "I hope it's up to standard if not send it back and I'll fix it up," He said as he played with his hands unsure of what to say. He did and didn't want this encounter to end at the same time. His feelings were mixed and had no clue what to do. Charles popped open the box as a smile grew on his face. He lifted the ring out of the box as he held it up to the light to examine it. _"It's beautiful"_ He breathed out as he smiled at Erik. He placed the ring back in the box before speaking again. "Well, I believe the payment should be coming your way in the next couple days," Charles said as the smile faded from his face.

"I guess this is goodbye old friend," Charles said, as he tucked the ring box into his jacket pocket. Erik cleared his throat before nodding, conjuring up a smile before replying. "Yes goodbye". He watched as Charles turned around and walk towards the door. Erik sighed as he looked back down at his hands, his eyes darting back up though as the doorbell went off again. He frowned seeing a young woman, no older than 25 or so rush into the store. Her sudden appearance had made Charles stop in his tracks and smile. Erik recognised her but couldn't put a name to her face for the life of him.

_"Watch where you're going, Charles! You nearly ran right into me!"_ The woman said with a wide smiling, grabbing both of Charles' shoulders in order to stop him from walking away. _"Raven, what on earth are you doing here?"_ He asked, feeling the ring box in his pocket. Raven smiled as she shook her head, " _Oh Hank sent me after you, what are you doing he- Erik is that you?"_ She asked, stepping away from her brother and actually into the shop in order to get a good look at Erik. Right, that was it, Raven Charles' sister. He raised his eyebrows before smiling and nodding. "Yeah it's me," He said awkwardly.

Raven's smile got bigger as she quickly walked towards him before walking around the counter in order to pull Erik into a tight embrace. _"I can't believe it's you!"_ She squealed. _"My God, how long has it been? 10 years?_ " She spoke, not giving Erik the chance to respond. _"I never did understand why you two grew so far apart,"_ She said with the shake of her head. Both Charles and Erik exchanged awkward glances, it seemed Charles had never told Raven what had happened between them in their final year of school. It looked like Charles wanted to keep it that way so Erik just smiled and nodded. "Well you know life happens I guess," He said with a smile.

When the two boys attended school together, merely ten years ago, Charles had the biggest crush on Erik. Though Erik was oblivious to this and unknowing to him had a similar feeling towards Charles. But once Erik found out about Charles' feeling towards him, he pushed Charles completely out of his life not wanting anything to do with the gay boy. After all, Erik didn't mind the kiss they briefly shared, but really it was a front to hide his true feeling towards the other boy. Since then the two hadn't spoken so yes, this encounter was more than awkward. It didn't help that Raven had been kept out of the loop, probably because she liked Erik as a friend.

Erik was snapped away from his thoughts as Raven came up with an idea. _"You know I'm getting married next week!"_ She squealed as she tugged at Erik's arm. _"Charles is going to be Hank's best man but it's a shame he'll be coming alone.."_ She said glancing back at her brother with a cheeky sort of smile before facing back to Erik. Oh, so Charles was single? That surprised Erik very much because he knew what the other man was like when he got a couple of drinks in him. _"You know what, you should come Erik! It would be great, plus I bet Charles wouldn't mind having some company"_ She said with a grin as she tugged at Erik's arm once again.

Erik glanced over at Charles who had started to lose the colour in his face apart from his cheeks where they were burning red from embarrassment. He looked back at Raven as he searched through his brain for some sort of suitable answer. "As much as I'd love to come, I'm sure there are much more important people you'd like to invite. This is the first time we've spoken in years" he said with a nervous sort of laugh, he wasn't prepared to face the consequences of cutting Charles completely out of his life just yet.

Raven didn't seem to like Erik's answer so just shook her head. _"Oh don't be silly Erik. This will be a great chance for you to catch up with my brother, plus I really really want you to be there"_ She said looking up at Erik. He sighed softly before biting his lip glancing at Charles, at this point he had no choice to accept. Raven would drag him there either way. "Okay fine I'll come," He said with a smile, though it left an uneasy feeling in his stomach as he just thought about having to converse with Charles. He had to be a man and deal with his problems face on but he just wanted to run away from them.

Raven looked very happy as Erik agreed, though the same could not be said about Charles who clearly just wanted to leave and speak to Raven in private. Maybe it would have been best to of let her know what really happened between the two men, rather than blaming it on time that had pushed them apart. Raven pulled out a piece of card out of her pocket and handed it to Erik. _"Great! You can be Charles plus one! We are having a practice dinner tonight at 10, make sure you are not late and are wearing something nice. I look forward to seeing you there"_ She said with a grin as she patted him on the back. Erik opened his mouth to say something but soon just shut it as anything that came out of his mouth wouldn't go down very well. "Alright, I'll be there," He said as he smiled at her, not being able to let down Raven.

This did mean he'd worry all day about what he'd wear later this evening. He'd never been invited to a wedding so didn't really have much formal wear. He'd have to stop by a tailor on his way back from work but wasn't sure he'd be able to afford something like a tuxedo. Oh he'd manage to find a way to get something he could wear, right?

Erik watched as Raven and Charles left the shop, slamming his fists on the counter once they were gone. What the hell was he going to do? He couldn't just ignore the fact he ignored Charles the last ten years. They were going to have the conversation eventually but Erik wasn't ready for that. He was finally coming to terms with his sexuality, though he still had never been with a man. He'd had a couple of girlfriends through the years but never lasted more than a few months. The only one he really cared about was a woman named Magda, but he hadn't heard from her since highschool. He needed to clear his mind, try and work out what he was going to talk to Charles about tonight.

In the meantime, he did his best to get back to work. This evening was going to be interesting to say the least.


End file.
